Harry Kane was released by Arsenal at the age of eight, with the club choosing to keep two other young strikers in his age group: Benik Afobe and Chuks Aneke. Kane has since become one of football's elite players and a genuine contender for the Ballon d'Or.
The Bayern Munich and England striker is enjoying the finest spell of his career ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League clash with the Gunners. After leaving Tottenham, where he became the club's record goalscorer, Kane has scored 102 league goals in just 100 Bundesliga appearances. His overall record for Bayern stands at 155 goals across 157 matches.
He recently became England's joint-most capped player with 125 appearances, celebrating the milestone with his 90th and 91st international goals. The 33-year-old has propelled himself into Ballon d'Or contention following a Bundesliga title win and leading England to third place at the World Cup.
Why Arsenal let Kane go
Kane initially came through Arsenal's youth system but left after just one season, joining Tottenham at age 11. Former Gunners academy coach Dan Buck highlighted the two strikers from Kane's age bracket who outshone him at the time.
Speaking to The Athletic, Buck said: "I'd do a session with the under-nines who weren't selected for matches and Harry ended up being with that squad a lot. Benik and Chuks would rock up on a Sunday and score about seven each and poor Harry would get five minutes."
Benik Afobe's career path
Afobe, born in Leyton, joined Arsenal's youth system in 2001 and remained for nearly 14 years. He signed his first professional contract in 2010 despite interest from Barcelona. However, he never made a senior appearance for the Gunners and departed in 2015 after six loan spells at Huddersfield Town, Reading, Bolton, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, and MK Dons.
Afobe flourished at MK Dons, netting 19 times in 30 appearances during the 2014/15 campaign, including a double in a 4-0 League Cup win over Manchester United. Wolves signed him in January 2015 for approximately £2million, and he later moved to Bournemouth for £10m in January 2016, scoring 11 goals in two and a half campaigns.
After returning to Wolves and helping them gain promotion to the Premier League in 2017/18, he was sold to Stoke City for £12m. He managed just nine goals across 51 outings and had loan spells at Bristol City, Trabzonspor and Millwall before departing for The Den in 2022. Now 33, he represents UAE-based Gulf United FC, having previously played for Hatta, Al Dhafra, Al-Arabi and Qatari side Al-Mesaimeer.
Chuks Aneke's journey
Aneke, born in Newham, entered Arsenal's academy at age seven and did make one senior appearance, coming on as a late substitute in a 3-1 League Cup win against Shrewsbury Town in September 2011. He had four loan spells between 2011 and 2014, turning out for Stevenage, Preston North End and Crewe Alexandra across two stints, finishing as Crewe's top scorer in 2013/14 with 16 goals.
Released by Arsenal in 2014, Aneke joined Belgian side Zulte Waregem, scoring five goals in 53 outings before returning to MK Dons, where he netted 33 times across three seasons. He moved to Charlton in 2019 and played 138 times across two spells (2019–2021 and 2022–2025), with a brief stint at Birmingham City in between. He ended his playing career with a short spell at Shrewsbury Town last season.
Neither Afobe nor Aneke replicated Kane's achievements, but both enjoyed distinguished careers. In his 2018 Players' Tribune piece, Kane made clear the snub had never left him: "It might sound ridiculous - I was only eight when they [Arsenal] let me go - but every time we played them, I thought, 'Alright, we'll see who's right and who's wrong.'"
